	<p>
		The Mormons say no one goes to hell, and instead, everyone on earth will instead go to one of several heavens.
		So why does the Book of Mormon claim there to be a hell?
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>1 Nephi 14:3</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell-yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		The Book of Mormon also claims that there are only two churches, and everyone has to belong to one.
		That&apos;s right, if you believe nothing and follow no one, you&apos;re somehow a part of a church anyway: the devil&apos;s church:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>1 Nephi 14:10</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				And he said unto me:
				Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		In other words, if you&apos;re not of the Mormon faith, you&apos;re going to hell.
	</p>
	<p>
		This hell is said to be where the wicked go, because they&apos;re filthy and no filth is allowed in the kingdom of Jehovah.
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>1 Nephi 15:34 - 15:35</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy. 
			</p>
			<p>
				And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		Hell is actually mentioned several more times, though not always in was that directly say anyone will go there.
		It&apos;s also outright said that you have to believe in Jesus to be saved:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 2:9</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		This contradicts the Mormon belief that everyone on earth will be saved, regardless of faith.
		Again, it&apos;s said that your choices can get you sent to hell:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 2:27 - 2:29</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man.
				And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
			</p>
			<p>
				And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;
			</p>
			<p>
				And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		More talk of hell after being judged:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 9:15 - 9:16</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.
			</p>
			<p>
				And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		Here, we see that those who don&apos;t get baptised and have perfect faith in Jehovah must be damned:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 9:23 - 9:24</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. 
			</p>
			<p>
				And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		Also, liars those who commit whoredoms go to hell:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 9:30 - 9:38</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world.
				For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their god.
				And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.
			</p>
			<p>
				And wo unto the deaf that will not hear; for they shall perish.
			</p>
			<p>
				Wo unto the blind that will not see; for they shall perish also.
			</p>
			<p>
				Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day.
			</p>
			<p>
				Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell.
			</p>
			<p>
				Wo unto the murderer who deliberately killeth, for he shall die.
			</p>
			<p>
				Wo unto them who commit whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down to hell.
			</p>
			<p>
				Yea, wo unto those that worship idols, for the devil of all devils delighteth in them.
			</p>
			<p>
				And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		For context, I included the surrounding passages, though these passages don&apos;t say you&apos;ll go to hell for the crimes they mention.
	</p>
	<p>
		And we have more talk of evil-doers going to hell ... :
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 26:10</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they sell themselves for naught; for, for the reward of their pride and their foolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they yield unto the devil and choose works of darkness rather than light, therefore they must go down to hell.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		Here, we&apos;re told that the Gentiles can only be saved through repentance, which of course means there&apos;s a way for them not to be saved, again contradicting the Mormon belief that everyone will be saved:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 6:12 - 6:15</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things.
			</p>
			<p>
				Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed.
				For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah.
			</p>
			<p>
				And behold, according to the words of the prophet, the Messiah will set himself again the second time to recover them; wherefore, he will manifest himself unto them in power and great glory, unto the destruction of their enemies, when that day cometh when they shall believe in him; and none will he destroy that believe in him.
			</p>
			<p>
				And they that believe not in him shall be destroyed, both by fire, and by tempest, and by earthquakes, and by bloodsheds, and by pestilence, and by famine. And they shall know that the Lord is God, the Holy One of Israel.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that non-believers will be destroyed.
		Hell isn&apos;t the only thing we get threatened with.
		This isn&apos;t the only time the book threatens us with outright destruction, either.
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 1:22</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				That ye may not be cursed with a sore cursing; and also, that ye may not incur the displeasure of a just God upon you, unto the destruction, yea, the eternal destruction of both soul and body.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		We&apos;re also presented with these interesting passages:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 28:7 - 28:15</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				Yea, and there shall be many which shall say:
				Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.
			</p>
			<p>
				And there shall also be many which shall say:
				Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God-he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.
			</p>
			<p>
				Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.
			</p>
			<p>
				And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.
			</p>
			<p>
				Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.
			</p>
			<p>
				Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.
			</p>
			<p>
				They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.
			</p>
			<p>
				They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.
			</p>
			<p>
				O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		It sounds to me that it&apos;s telling us that the thought that we&apos;ll be saved regardless of what we do is false.
		This everyone-gets-into-one-of-the-heavens idea the Mormons teach seems to be at odd with their own holy book.
		Such a belief is one of the signs of the corruption of the church!
		I&apos;m guessing the robbing of the poor would be the tithing Mormons are expected to pay, likely regardless of income level.
		I&apos;m not entirely sure on this though.
		I haven&apos;t looked into it.
		The belief that they&apos;ll be saved despite sin is directly addressed though.
		We&apos;re also told that it&apos;s the devil <strong>*himself*</strong> that&apos;ll try to convince us that there&apos;s no hell:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>2 Nephi 28:18 - 28:23</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof.
			</p>
			<p>
				For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;
			</p>
			<p>
				For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.
			</p>
			<p>
				And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.
			</p>
			<p>
				And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them:
				I am no devil, for there is none-and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.
			</p>
			<p>
				Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		And more ... :
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>Jacob 3:11</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				O my brethren, hearken unto my words; arouse the faculties of your souls; shake yourselves that ye may awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of hell that ye may not become angels to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		If found guilty of rejecting the words of the prophets - the indirect word of Yahweh - it&apos;s into the lake of fire with you, so you can suffer endless torment:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>Jacob 6:8 - 6:10</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				Behold, will ye reject these words?
				Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?
			</p>
			<p>
				Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God?
			</p>
			<p>
				And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		Denying the Christ is <strong>*the*</strong> unpardonable sin.
		Not murder.
		Not rape.
		Not malice of any kind.
		Simply denying that Jesus sacrificed (or is going to sacrifice, from the point of view of Sherem) himself to appease the wrath of his father for your lack of perfection (in other words, for being yourself) is the only thing that cannot be forgiven:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>Jacob 7:18 - 7:19</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				And he spake plainly unto them, that he had been deceived by the power of the devil.
				And he spake of hell, and of eternity, and of eternal punishment.
			</p>
			<p>
				And he said:
				I fear lest I have committed the unpardonable sin, for I have lied unto God; for I denied the Christ, and said that I believed the scriptures; and they truly testify of him.
				And because I have thus lied unto God I greatly fear lest my case shall be awful; but I confess unto God.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		Eternal punishment also awaits those that listen to the wrong spirit, and mistake it for the Holy Ghost.
		You don&apos;t know it, but you&apos;re sinning, so you&apos;ve got to suffer forever for it:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>Mosiah 2:32 - 2:33</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you, and ye list to obey the evil spirit, which was spoken of by my father Mosiah.
			</p>
			<p>
				For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of God contrary to his own knowledge.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		If you listen to an evil spirit (which I assume to be Satan) instead of the things you&apos;re told Jehovah wants even though Jehovah never told you them himself, you&apos;re doomed to eternal torment.
		You shall get no mercy:
	</p>
	<div class="cited-quotation">
		<cite>Mosiah 2:37 - 2:39</cite>
		<blockquote>
			<p>
				I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.
			</p>
			<p>
				Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.
			</p>
			<p>
				And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a never-ending torment.
			</p>
		</blockquote>
	</div>
	<p>
		I spoke with the missionaries about all these references in their holy book to a place they claim doesn&apos;t exist, and they claimed hell isn&apos;t a place, but a state of mind.
		It&apos;s a terrible state of mind in which you cannot continue to grow because you refuse to continue to learn.
		That sounds a lot like the state of mind experienced by those that hold onto religious beliefs despite all proof they see contradictory to their beliefs and against all reason.
		It&apos;s those that reject the claims of mysticism, magic, and miracles that don&apos;t have to live in such a state.
		A firm belief in science and a rejection of theology are therefore what keep you out of hell.
	</p>
